Early Literacy, Ch. 2: Narrative Skills

Welcome to the next installment of Early Literacy. Today I'm talking about Narrative Skills. This skill involves a child being able to recognize the components of a story. Every story has a beginning, middle, and an end. Kids might be able to predict what is going to happen next. And they may also begin to be able to tell their own stories.

Ways that you can encourage your child to develop narrative skills include:

• Talk together about what happened during the day today. "And then what happened?"
• Read books that have cause and effect that your child may be able to predict.
• Play a story-telling game by beginning with "Once upon a time, there was a _____" and let your child fill it in. Then ask questions to encourage the child to tell his/her own story. S/he may need help with this in the beginning. You might make suggestions or give the child options if s/he has a hard time coming up with a story. No matter what s/he says, don't squelch the story, as absurd or nonsensical as it may sound to you.

Join me sometime soon with Early Literacy, Ch. 3: Letter Knowledge.